Wireshark-dev: Re: [Wireshark-dev] Developing a dissector for MODBUS-based protocol

From: Guy Harris <guy@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Tue, 24 Jun 2008 00:25:57 -0700
Barnes, Pat wrote:

Should just load without causing errors, and not recognise any packets
(yet). The heuristic dissector is added to "mbtcp" - because it's a
particular subset of the modbus/tcp protocol.

It builds without problems, but crashes Wireshark! (btw, where would a
relevant log file be found?)

If Wireshark were run from a terminal window in UN*X, or if TShark were run from a terminal/terminal window in UN*X or a console window in Windows, it would probably have printed a message reporting that an assertion had failed.

If I change "mbtcp" to just "tcp", there are no errors. (but I want to
have the dissector sit under mbtcp so that I can access the mbtcp
fields)

What is happening?

heur_dissector_add() is reporting that there's no "mbtcp" heuristic dissector table to which to add your dissector. In order to support heuristic sub-dissectors, a dissector must register a heuristic sub-dissector table, and must check that table at the relevant place when dissecting; there's no magic way to insert heuristic dissectors into arbitrary places in a dissector.

You'd have to modify the MODBUS/TCP dissector to call dissector_try_heuristic(), with the sub-dissector table, in the appropriate places, such as the dissection of the data in a READ_WRITE_REG message. Construct a tvbuff containing the data, and use that.

You'd probably want to use a name different from "mbtcp" for the table if it's used only for READ_WRITE_REG messages, such as "mbtcp-rwreg".